This is an easy step-by-step recipe to make the Southern Classic Chicken and Pastry, also known as Southern Chicken and Dumplings.
Chicken and Pastry is one of South's most beloved classic dish. Follow these steps to make some delicious Southern Cooking.
Easy Chicken and Pastry Recipe
Chicken and Pastry
When I first met my husband I could barely cook. He would get so excited when his Great Aunts would come to visit bringing amazing platters ofEleven Layered Cake, Home Made Pimento Cheese Sandwiches, Field Peas, and his favorite…. Chicken and Pastry. I knew if I wanted to win this man's heart, I better learn how to make these dishes!!!
Aunt Molly
So I asked one of his sweet Aunts to teach me how to do some of this Southern Cooking. His Aunt Molly was happy to share. I started with the Chicken and Pastry. I would cook hours and hours in the kitchen making pastry from scratch just like Aunt Molly did. I would makequite a mess…. Flour everywhere…. But my husband was so happy when I made it. That made me happy. Soon his friends beganrequesting me to make it…. but it was so much work, I would only make it on special occasions. Until……
Chicken and Dumplings Easy
One day a family memberbrought over Chicken and Pastry to a family gathering. Everyone was devouring it. Someone slipped up and told me the hidden secret. They used Anne's Old Fashioned Flat Dumplings. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the homemade version of the pastry or Anne's!!! I was shocked. All those hours and all that mess… And there was an easy frozen version??? Honestly, you cannot tell it is not homemade… So why not? I have been using Anne's Dumplings ever since. If I wasn't an honest person, I would tell everyone I made the pastry and no one would know…. but I couldn't live with myself if I did. So I thought I would share my little secret with you!
Anne's Old Fashioned Flat Dumplings
They come in this box in the freezer section.They cook just LOVELY!
I take celery, onion, and carrots and throw them in a food processor until they are finely cut. Then I sauté them until they are fully cooked.
Next I add the cooked carrots, onions, celery, seasonings, and a whole chicken to a large stock pot filling it with water. I cook the chicken in the pot until completelydone.
I take out the chicken and save the broth. I take off all the meat and save it for the pastry. I boil 3 eggs…. This is what makes Molly's version extra special… she adds hard boiled eggs…. Umm, umm, good!
Next, I bring the broth to a boil adding pastry one by one. I like my pastry thick, so I add the whole box… Pastry goes fast in my household… You have to make all you can make…
Next you add in the chicken.
Then you chop up the boiled eggs and add them in next.
Easy Chicken and Pastry Recipe
Talk about some Good Ol' Southern Soul Food!!!!
Easy Chicken and Pastry Recipe
Don't you want a bite?
Easy Chicken and Pastry Recipe
Writing this post is making me hungry all over again!!!
Aunt Molly recently passed away. She is truly missed. Besides my grandmother, she was the foundation to my love for cooking. She cooked with love… And you felt loved when you ate her food. I try to do the same. There is something very satisfying making something with your hands, sharing it, and watching someone else delight in it. I am not half the cook she was, but maybe I will be someday.
If you enjoyed this recipe, check out: French Onion Chicken Casserole, Granny Moore's Dressing, and How to CookField Peas.
Recipe
Easy Chicken and Pastry Recipe- Southern Chicken and Dumplings
This is an easy step-by-step recipe to make the Southern Classic Chicken and Pastry, also known as Southern Chicken and Dumplings.
A variant known as "chicken and pastry" or simply "chicken pastry" features wide, flat noodles rolled from biscuit dough. Where such a distinction is made, it is sometimes considered a different dish from "chicken and dumplings", which is known for small balls of dough rather than flat strips.
Add about a teaspoon of salt and a big pinch of pepper or handful of peppercorns. Feel free to add several stalks/leaves of fresh herbs (no need to chop), like parsley, thyme, oregano, or sage. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so water maintains a gentle simmer.
Baking powder is the leavening agent of choice for fluffy dumplings. It is important that the right ratio of baking powder to flour be measured. Too little and the dumpling will not rise adequately; if there's too much baking powder, then the dumplings will rise and fall.
Bring the broth to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and drop in the dumplings a few at a time, giving them a good stir to prevent sticking together. When all the dumplings have been added, cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so the dumplings don't stick together.
What is the difference between Southern and Northern chicken and dumplings? Old-fashioned Southern chicken dumplings are made with shortening or butter and dropped into a simmering broth.Northern dumplings are made with eggs and served with a thinner broth.
Drop the dumpling mixture by large spoonfuls of dough over the surface of the chicken stew. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Check the dumplings with a toothpick to see if they're done; if they are still doughy in the middle, flip them over, cover and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
If you don't have broth on hand and want a little more flavor than just plain water, try subbing in 1 cup of water plus 1 tablespoon of butter for every cup of chicken broth in your recipe. The butter will help create a richer flavor than just water alone.
Cover and bring to a vigorous boil. Add roughly one cup of cold water and return to boil while covered. Repeat this step again. The dumplings will be completely cooked and ready when they float on the surface of the boiling water.
Poultry seasoning blends typically have spice and herbs like sage, rosemary, thyme, garlic and onion (and others!), so if you don't have a blend but have any of those individual spices- add them!
Overworking the mixture, thus having heavy dumplings is a common mistake people make. Dumplings need very gentle handling, so mix only until the ingredients are just combined, and if your recipe involves rolling them out with extra flour, avoid using too much.
Once your water is boiling, let your dumplings cook in the steam for about ten minutes. Don't remove the lid as letting the steam escape will disrupt the cooking process and result in undercooked dumplings, so keep that lid on!
How can I thicken stove top chicken and dumplings? You can thicken this dish by adding more flour, or even cornstarch. Create a slurry with either of these ingredients and milk or water, then stir into your broth base until you get your desired consistency.
Why do my dumplings get gummy? The best dumplings are tender and soft, easy to eat with just a spoon. If your dumplings instead turn tough or gummy, the most likely culprit is overworked dough.
Keep the heat low and keep your pot covered so that they steam. The dumplings can cook longer than the suggested times without issues, but agitating them with an aggressive simmer will make them fall apart.
The dumplings will float to the top of the broth, even though at first they may plop under the broth. It's okay if they cook on top of the chicken pieces. If you removed the chicken, they'd still float to the top, though.
Dumplings may be prepared using a variety of methods, including baking, boiling, frying, simmering or steaming and are found in many world cuisines. Some definitions rule out baking and frying in order to exclude items like fritters and other pastries that are generally not regarded as dumplings by most individuals.
American dumplings may be of the filled pastry type (which are usually baked), or they may be little pieces of dough added to a savoury or sweet dish, in which case they are usually boiled. Baked sweet dumplings are a popular dessert in American cuisine.
Instead, we're focusing on three different subcategories within the Chinese culinary canon: Chinese dumplings, wontons, and baozi. Although all three of these fit within that culinary definition, we're setting them apart from each other due to their different preparation methods.
Pasties, the smaller one is filled with Japanese curry glazed vegetables. I have said it before, (and here) the Cornish Pasty counts as a form of dumpling.
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Introduction: My name is Msgr. Benton Quitzon, I am a comfortable, charming, thankful, happy, adventurous, handsome, precious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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